In The Water
by Fuebi
Summary: Axel was starting to become a little too addicted to the smell of chlorine.


Axel didn't believe in a thing called love.

He had seen the downfalls of such a thing. His parents being good examples. He lived with his mother, his sister Kairi lived with their father. Now he had to go over everything again with this love shit because Kairi was apparently in love with Sora (who he had yet to meet) and they were so frickin' smitten' and Kairi was oozing her twitter-patted state from every orifice from her body. It was sickening to Axel.

Really, it was only a matter of time before Kairi was crying and screaming and PMSing about how Sora never paid enough attention to her, or how he forgot to give her a present on Arbor Day, or something stupid like that. What was it with women anyway? They receive a gift and almost everything is forgiven. Their eyes would sparkle from the jewelry they would receive and everything was better.

The red head took out a pack of cigarettes, biting the top of one to pull it out, and flipping his lighter to get it started. He inhaled and let out the puff of toxic smoke and let it curl and form shapes before it dissipated back into the air. Axel sort of envied the smoke. Why couldn't his mother and father be like that?

He looked up at the sky, his gaze going to the right where the town clock towered over everything, telling Axel that _whoa was it that late already? _And that his mother was probably going to kill him. He stared at the cigarette in between his index and middle finger and scowled at it before dropping it to the ground, and squishing it. He had a small smirk on his face imagining it being a certain someone, and their certain body part.

With increasing speed Axel felt the win blow through his hair as he ran to the bus stop. He felt the change _ching_ against each other in his pocket. He fucking hoped he had enough to make it back home.

With relief he saw the bus just pull up to its stop. He halted in front of the doors as they opened up slowly to reveal a rather large woman with a mole that she should probably get removed.

He took his time counting his change, making sure it was _just_ right, because he was just a little bit cranky from not being able to finish his smoke, and plus he liked the way the woman scowled at him. It made him happy. So when he made his third check to make sure he had the exact right amount of change he bowed to the driver. He let her scowl pierce the top of his flaming head and walked off, satisfied with himself.

That is, before he felt his foot catching something, a certain something that caused him to nearly fall. So instead he gripped onto the sides of two seats and caught himself, before he could make a _total_ douche of himself. He turned, because what _tard_ dared to try and trip him?

"Watch where you're going," Axel's eyes widened at the remark. This boy, this blue eyed, blond haired, chlorine smelling _ass_ dared to talk to him like that? He scowled at the boy, felt humiliated, and went to go sit down at the back of the bus. How could, just, UGH. What an ass hole. When was the last time he met such an ass like himself?

Never. Really never. The only ass that was that much of a douchbag was _him_. Ouch. That sort of opened up his eyes for a second.

* * *

So he was an ass hole. What of it? It wasn't like he was like that on _purpose_. There was...some reason. He was sure of it.

His room smelt like flowery fake-ness. His mom probably would have killed him by now if he didn't learn at an early age to always have a bottle of febreze stashed away after each cigarette. And the ash tray was under his bed, hidden under porno mags. Hey, he rather his mother find _those_ then find out her son was slowly contracting lung cancer.

So he laid in his bed, thinking back to the bus, and that _ass hole_ that had almost tripped him, and wondered why he smelt like chlorine. Well the obvious reason as to why he would smell like that would be because he swam. And he did have a RGU bag. Maybe he swam at the University pool?

_Whatever_ Axel thought. It wasn't like he cared. Why would he care to think about some blond haired ass that almost made him make nice with the floor of the bus? The grimy, grungy, riddled with gum floor? He wouldn't waste a thought on that fine, fine ass that had gotten off the bus.

That…fine, fine ass that looked wonderful in those khakis. Oh EW, was he salivating? Gross.

So he thought that he was a nice piece of man-meat. A stud muffin. It didn't mean that he could hate him for…being an _ass._

Axel rolled over and let his arm be used as a pillow for his pounding head. The flowery fake-ness was starting to make his head hurt.

* * *

Demyx had said the best way to get rid of a headache was to drink it away. Axel thought that Demyx was an idiot, which he rightly was, but to have an excuse to drink was appealing. Plus his mom was gone out on a date number 24 of the month. He had a lot more excuses to drink that night.

So it was reaching some god forsaken time and his tongue tasted like sandpaper. His throat also burned incredibly with each swig of whiskey. Each person in the bar was looking like they were having a lot more fun than him. Well now that wouldn't do.

Where was Demyx? Axel looked around the place and spotted a mess of blond hair dancing in the middle of the floor. When he got closer he noticed that his companion was sex-dancing with a shorter, comb-over wearing teen. Okay, so Demyx was out of commission.

Who exactly did that leave?

Looking around some more, he realized that that left no one. He walked back to his stool, and let his forehead make nice with the black stone bar. The lights were blinding. Blue, red, green, blue again. He suddenly wished he had his headache back because it was so much worse with the lights blinding him every time he opened up his eyes.

"Hey, would you mind doing something for me?"

He looked to the side and widened his eyes. "Blond kid?"

"Pardon?"

Axel shook his head, "Oh just…nothing,"

The kid looked skeptical but shrugged it off. "I need to be kissing you for about three minutes if you don't mind,"

Axel blanked. The ass hole he had met on the bus was here, in front of him, in those sexy khaki jeans, and he wanted to _kiss him_? Just like that?

Axel took a minute to think this through, and while he was thinking critically to the outside world he still had a look of complete shock on his face. What was with this kid? Axel analyzed him. While his green eyes scavenged his being he realized that the chlorine smell was replaced with an over powering smell of cologne. Axel's face fell. He sort of liked the smell. It was distinguishing and made this kid _him._

"I really don't have all day," And Axel was pulled down into a deep kiss, tongue and everything. His mouth being plundered and over taken by…by _him_. And he found himself liking it. He closed his shocked eyes, and let his hand rest on the small of the blond kids back. The other hand reached the back of his head, holding him in place.

It felt like they were the only people in the world. The smell of cologne over powering his senses and making his nose twitch. He wanted to place his hands in all the wrong places, to just see what he looked like under the dress shirt and pants he wore. Why did he want to kiss Axel anyway? Why _him_? And it wasn't like Axel believed in fate or anything, but the simple fact of irony was starting to bleed from the situation.

A pair of hands held firmly onto the side of Axel's neck, where they gently massaged. The red heads thoughts started melting into goo. And just when Axel was starting to get _really_ into it the _kid_ pulled away, his mouth swollen and red, but still looking like he was a million bucks.

The blond haired teen let his blue eyes go adrift to the side. When Axel followed he saw a blond haired girl frown and turn away. Axel narrowed his eyes at him. "That was kind of an ass hole-ish thing to do, you know that?" The blond kid turned back to Axel, smirking.

"Roxas," And he walked off.

So he had a name with a face. And by that little stunt he could tell that Roxas was a genuine ass hole, much like himself -which was probably why he liked him so much-, but that didn't mean he could play Axel's feelings like that. That was just… hurtful.

* * *

The headache that accompanied Axel through the morning told Axel that he was stupid, and told him not to pull an act like that again. He said he wouldn't, and knew he was lying to himself. He never could keep promises. His mother was in the kitchen in her pink bathrobe and white slippers, sipping her coffee with a sigh. Oh if that wasn't a regular site.

When he walked into the kitchen, his mother put her coffee down and put on her mothering face. "What time did you get in last night?" He sighed, much like the one his mother, but only feeling like he had gone through the same routine. This was so familiar he could write a script. "I got in at three, mom" The scowl on her face told him that she was not pleased. He sat down at the island and put his head on her hand, staring at her.

"What?"

"You know I don't like you out after one" His mother frowned. So Axel didn't come home at the right time, so what? He got home safely, he just wanted to make sure that Demyx had a way home, and didn't stumble into some stranger's house. Much like he would. So he called a cab and even called his mother to tell him that he was home. Isn't that a good son?

"You're a hypocrite,"

* * *

Thoroughly disgusted with himself and how many pancakes he had consumed Axel felt his stomach expand less than an inch. He stared at the paper in front of him, and tried to figure out what seven across was. The crossword was almost done he noted, and even though there was many syrup stains he basked in the fact that he had almost completed something of his own accord. He felt accomplished.

"Okay here's the deal, I'm not as big of an ass hole as you think I am,"

With his eyes trained on the paper, he didn't notice the person sliding into his booth and acting like he was giving a sales pitch. "I'm a teenager who has a significant amount of angst, much like you probably. I have issues, you have issues. Who says that a guy can't just _vent_ once in a while? I mean, you gotta cut me some slack, I just broke up with my girlfriend of three years," Axel stared.

"So…wait, what? You… you just come in here and expect me to completely change my view on you..."

"Roxas,"

"Right. And expect me to completely change my view on you Roxas?" He folded his paper and felt angry that he wasn't able to finish the crossword. So many distractions in the world. Why did the sexy, fine ass known as Roxas have to be one of them? He wanted to be able to do at least one thing in his life, be able to finish something.

With the thought of syrup and rice crispies on his mind he scowled at Roxas, who just kept his face blank. Maybe he also had a hangover. The way he was acting last night would certainly explain a few things. Axel decided to bring up that point. He deserved to know that at least.

"Why did you make out with me then?" Axel crossed his arms, leaning back into the light blue leather.

Roxas seemed completely taken aback at the red heads question. Did he not expect that question? Did he seriously not think that Axel would want some _fucking_ answers?

Roxas had to think, Axel could see that. "You sort of took me off guard there, sorry if I can't answer with some form of coherent-ness"

Blue eyes stared back at green, and stayed like that for about three minutes before Axel had to blink away the dryness of his eyes. "What. The. Fuck." What was he talking about? Coherent? Since when did sticking his tongue down his throat have anything to do with being coherent? Roxas wasn't being very good at explaining anything. He only raised more questions. For being so frickin' evasive Axel only thought Roxas was even more of an ass hole.

"You know you need to work on your pitch. I still think you're an ass hole," Axel sipped his lukewarm coffee and felt the liquid mesh with the food in his stomach. It wasn't a pretty combination as far as he could tell.

"I'm trying my hardest here,"

"Yeah well, try a little harder," Axel's hands tightened.

"Why do you think that I just up and fucking sat down here? I _am_ trying,"

That did make sense, vaguely, he thought. So maybe Roxas was trying. How was he supposed to know though? Roxas could have been pulling his leg again, trying to humiliate him. The thought made him sick. Actually no, he just felt sick "I...I have to go to bathroom. I want you gone by the time I'm back,"

* * *

He didn't expect to see his breakfast for a second time that day. Axel made note not to get the fruit pancakes with the blueberry syrup. His hands rested on the side of the bowl, lifting him up. He wiped his mouth, wanting to get the taste of bile off his tongue.

"Need some help there?"

"Yeah, no," Axel narrowed his eyes into the toilet, wanting Roxas to go away. "If you want to help, you can leave me alone, like I said to before,"

He could feel the smirk on Roxas face, making him become more agitated. The red head would have done something about the smug look except his body felt heavy and he couldn't really move. "You think this is karma?"

"Did I ever tell you my name?"

"No,"

"My name's Axel. So I, Axel, demand you get the fuck out," His throat was burning, stinging, and he felt like he did the night before after drinking a shot of whiskey. Maybe it was karma, but he didn't want to give Roxas the pleasure of rubbing it in his face. The fucker was such a…_ass hole_.

"Ow Axel, you wound me,"

Said red head turned to look at Roxas. He had a hand over his heart, his eyes down cast and seeming sad, but mocking. "If only,"

He turned back, and breathed in the air, trying to steady his stomach. The familiar smell of chlorine drifted into his nose again, and he felt his head snap around. When Axel's green eyes landed on Roxas he noticed that the blond was starting to become blurred. Everything was starting to become blurred. The stall blended with the floor and the only thing that was remotely recognizable was the smell of chlorine.

"Fuck, Axel? Hey, hold on I'm gonna… gonna get you out of here, okay? You okay with that?"

If _Roxas_ had any sense he would shut the fuck up and just carry Axel to his car. He tried to stand; he was fine, he was sure. He didn't need some ass hole giving him pity. "Screw off. I'll be fine,"

Roxas smirked and told Axel to _shut the fuck up_, which he did, and let Roxas lead him to a blue Pontiac.

Through his hazy vision Axel felt the need to be an ass hole, "You're car sucks,"

* * *

Waking up to the smell of smoke, Axel bolted up and realized that he wasn't in his house, wasn't in his room. He scanned the room he _was_ in and saw that the walls were scattered with movie posters and pictures of athletes. He leaped out of the bed, his feet hitting the wooden floor. When he looked down he saw papers scattered across the ground. "What the fuck?"

"Oh I see you're up? Well, seeing as you're better, I guess it's time your mom took you home," Roxas leaned on the door frame, his arms crossed, looking smug and like he knew what he was talking about. He had changed out of his clothes from earlier. Axel raised an eyebrow at this.

Roxas noticed Axel staring at his shirt and looked down, realizing that the red head had noticed the change, "Oh yeah, you sort of threw up on me. Had to change my shirt and all,"

Axel felt guilty now, and even though Roxas was a jerk he still didn't mean that he felt bad about, well, spewing chunks on Roxas. "Sorry about that I…"

"It's fine. You're mom's here to bring you back home,"

He wanted to say _thanks_, but it was stuck in his throat, unable to make it out of his mouth. Silence graced the room. It looked as if Roxas was waiting for Axel to say something, expecting some form of apology. If he thought that Axel was going to change his mind about him being an ass hole, then he was going to have to try harder.

"You _still_ think that I- fuck you are a selfish ass hole. Christ Axel,"

* * *

Axel stood out front of the University, a cigarette between his lips. The place didn't look intimidating at all! He didn't know what he was so scared about. He was only going there because he had heard that… actually; he didn't know why he was going there. He kept telling himself that it had nothing to do with Roxas. Nothing to do with his growing addiction to the faint smell of chlorine.

Pale hands took hold of the cigarette and threw it onto the ground, where Axel stepped on it while walking towards the front doors of the University. When he pushed opened the doors his senses were assaulted with the smell of fresh paint and… _old_.

He cringed at the smell and started walking in a random direction, hoping that it would bring him to the pool. He stopped suddenly, smelling chlorine again. "Where the fuck is the pool?"

"If you're looking for the pool, it's to your left,"

Axel jumped and turned around, staring down a girl that looked familiar. Looking into her eyes he saw that she didn't look too happy, even if her smile showed that she was being helpful. "Uh… thanks…" He turned around and started jogging down the corridor.

At the end of the hall he saw a pair of glass frosted doors. He slowed down to a fast walk, trying not to look to over eager, the aroma of chlorine started to cling to his clothes. "Fuck, what am I doing?"

Black converse shoes squeaked on the floor. When Axel looked down he saw that the floor was wet and glistening. His heart started racing. The teen reached the doors and pushed the opened, looking around he felt his heart fall. Roxas wasn't there.

"What the fuck are you doing here?"

Turning around he saw Roxas. He wore a bathing suit. A _tight_ bathing suit. Axel almost fainted at the sight. "I… I wanted to… say sorry?"

The blond raised one brow, waiting for more out of Axel. "Um…and I'm sorry that…I called you an ass hole?"

"Better, now come 'ere," Roxas motioned for Axel to stand in front of him. "Why?" His footsteps made loud noises against the concrete as he walked towards Roxas.

Roxas took hold of Axel's face and kissed him softly on the cheek. When he stopped, Axel saw his face lighting up into a plethora of pink. His eyes widened. "What…the fuck?"

"That…was a sort of…thanks, I guess,"

Green eyes traced the blonds' body. His stomach flat and fuck Axel was going to jump this kid if he didn't put on some clothes soon. "Can you get on some clothes?"

* * *

Rain was something that Axel cherished in his early childhood days. He remembered sitting outside on the front porch and just inhaling deeply because the air smelt so good. It felt clean and fresh. It smelt like everything bad had been washed away.

So when it started raining Axel found himself sitting outside on the porch, smelling the air. "You do this often?" Roxas stood out in the rain, a drenched hoody on, and a bag slung over his shoulder.

Axel looked at Roxas worried. The blond teen walked up onto the front porch and sat down beside Axel on the cushioned bench. He put the bag down and looked out into the rain, "I need a place to stay,"

* * *

"You smell like chlorine,"

"And you smell like… febreze"

Axel chuckled as he slowly stroked Roxas' flaxen hair. "You know, I heard that the sense of smell can be used as an aphrodisiac?"

Roxas laughed, and inhaled deeply, "Yeah, I did know that,"


End file.
